Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Raspberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast


I love a good brunch. It’s all I think about after waking up the morning after a long night out. It was bad news when I lived in the same building as a Busboys & Poets, and is now bad again after a Founding Farmers opened up not too far from my new home. But it’s fun to make your own brunch because it’s way cheaper. Especially when you can buy an entire bottle of champagne for the same price as one mimosa at a restaurant. Mmmm, mimosas. I could have a mimosa (or 4) every morning. So, to celebrate spring break I made a brunch for my roommates, with raspberry cheesecake stuffed French toast as the main dish.



5 eggs
¼ cup vanilla soy milk
½ tbsp. vanilla extract
Sliced challah bread ½ inch thick
Small box of fresh raspberries
Cream cheese
1 tbsp butter

Puree the fresh raspberries. Whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Heat the butter in the skillet. Then, cover one side of one piece of bread with cream cheese, and dip the plain side in the egg mixture. Pop the bread in the skillet, egg side down. Spoon a dollop of raspberry puree on top of the cream cheese. Take another slice of bread, dip one side in the egg mixture. Place it on top of the first slice of bread to make a cream cheese/raspberry sandwich, egg side up. After the first side has cooked, flip the sandwich over and cook until browned. Add maple syrup and enjoy! And don’t forget your mimosa, vitamin C is very important!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

S'mores Brownies


Spring has come early this year in DC! Well, actually I’m not sure winter even came in the first place. Which is perfectly fine with me. I love love love snow, but I hate the cold. After two Snow-Pocolypses in a row, I will embrace a tame winter with welcoming arms. So, now that it’s mid-March and 60 degrees, it’s time to start planning camping trips! I love camping because you can spend a low key, relaxing weekend in a beautiful location for oh-so cheap. Sure, you wake up at 6 AM every morning with an aching back, but with the right people, a cooler full of yummy beer, and a gorgeous location, camping can be one of the best weekend trips you can take. So here my is my concoction S’mores Brownies:




Graham Cracker Crust
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Brownies
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
1 tspn vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups mini marshmellows

There have been many moments in my 25 years where I can be extremely scatter brained and wonder how on Earth I function day to day. This is one of them. Originally, I used my brownie recipe and thought “oh, I will just add marshmallows to it to make it s’mores! Genius!!” thinking the marshmallows would stay perfectly intact to be white clouds of deliciousness throughout the brownies. After baking, I was shocked… where the hell did the marshmallows go?!? Uhhhh… they melted during baking. Duh. So I just added more marshmallows on top of the finished product and put it back in the oven for 3 minutes so the marshmallows softened on top, but did not melt completely. 

Anywhoo, just mix together the graham cracker crust ingredients, and split in half. Spread the first half of the mixture on the bottom of a greased pan. Then, mix the brownie ingredients and spread on top of the graham cracker crust. Flatten the second half of the graham cracker crust mixture using a rolling pin (or if you don’t have one- pound it out between two sandwich baggies) and place it on top of the brownies. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Then, sprinkle marshmallows to cover the brownies, and put the pan back in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Remove, cool, and enjoy the s’mores brownies in the beautiful spring weather!